


Respect

by TonyPie17



Series: Rose of Every Colour [4]
Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Flower Language, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-07
Updated: 2015-03-07
Packaged: 2018-03-16 18:54:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3499205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TonyPie17/pseuds/TonyPie17
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The third rose is different; it's meaning can be occasionally mistaken for one thing instead of another. Bilbo straightens that out a bit...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Respect

Dwalin had come to see Bilbo as a great ally when the Hobbit stood before Azog the Defiler himself to save his (idiot of a) king from being cut down then and there, their quest over halfway through. They probably would not have made it past the Trolls if not for Bilbo! At every turn, Bilbo proved that he deserved his place in the Company, whether it was when he stood before Azog or when he went into the Lonely Mountain to face down Smaug. Bilbo proved to Dwalin, if no one else, that he was extremely loyal to Thorin.

Even if Bilbo didn’t know himself.

Dwalin snorted as he headed through the greenhouse to Bilbo’s smial, planning to bug the Hobbit while he was cooking (and possibly pilfer from the cookie jar if he could get away with it), when he’d thought of what Bilbo had done for them and more specifically their king. Bilbo was constantly at Thorin’s side, helping him in his royal duties and ensuring that he was as healthy and sane as possible.

“Idiot can’t even see what’s in front of him,” he chortled to himself as he stepped over a pot of purplish flowers.

“I hope you’re not referring to me,” the voice of Thorin came from the door Dwalin was preparing to open, having heard Dwalin’s footsteps outside it, and the warrior laughed when Thorin gave him an annoyed glare.

“Course not! I’d have called you more than that if I were,” Dwalin grinned. Thorin rolled his eyes and then opened the door once more to call inside.

“Bilbo! Dwalin’s coming through,” he yelled.

“Tell him to stay away from my cookie jar!” Bilbo called back. Thorin looked at Dwalin, a satisfied smirk on his face when the other Dwarrow grumbled about his plans being foiled again.

Thorin let Dwalin through and both walked into the kitchen, where Bilbo was moving about preparing a hearty lunch for the Company. He made sure he had extra of everything, since it was possible Bombur would eat most of what they would have. It wouldn’t be the first time his entire pantry was exhausted by his fellow cook.

“What brings you by early? Lunch isn’t for another hour,” Bilbo asked once he’d placed a lid on the pot of beef stew he’d gotten going.

“What do you think?” Thorin cut in, before Dwalin could answer. He looked pointedly at the cookie jar that held a batch of fresh cookies Bilbo had just baked that morning.

“Hey, who’s to say I didn’t simply want to say hello?” Dwalin frowned, sounding offended, though both Bilbo and Thorin knew he wasn’t.

“Well, you’ll have to wait until _after_ lunch,” Bilbo snorted. He looked at Thorin. “Could you go and start gathering the others?”

“Why must I? Dwalin’s perfectly capable,” and no, Thorin most certainly did _not_ whine as he said that, no matter what Bilbo and Dwalin would say.

“Because I must have words with Dwalin. Don’t pout, you need to speak with Dori about the recent influx of craftsmen in the guilds anyway.” Bilbo pointed his spoon at Thorin menacingly. “I’ll not have you Dwarrows discussing work at lunch, especially when that line of conversation always seems to end in arguments.”

Thorin held up his hands in defeat, not wanting to end up getting whacked with kitchen utensils. He had soon Bilbo hit Fili and Kili’s knuckles multiple times with that very same spoon, and he’d seen the damage it could do. There was absolutely no way he’d been on the receiving end of that pain if he could help it.

“I’ll send Fili and Kili to set the table,” he threw over his shoulder before leaving. Bilbo and Dwalin watched him go, before Bilbo looked to Dwalin.

Dwalin looked at Bilbo with skepticism in his eyes, afraid that _he_ might end up getting hit with Bilbo’s spoon. Thankfully, though, the Hobbit placed the spoon down, and gestured for Dwalin to follow him. Dwalin stood and went after Bilbo as he went out to the greenhouse, in the direction of the nursery, humming some Hobbit tune or other.

“I’ve a task for you,” Bilbo stated as he rummaged through a flower pot that had no dirt in it. He pulled out a pouch of seeds. Dwalin stared at it as if it may bite him when Bilbo held it out to him.

“You want me to garden?” the Dwarrow asked, as if the notion were an absurd one. Bilbo rose an eyebrow.

“Yes. Because I trust you to be able to do so,” the Hobbit replied. He pulled a single seed from the pouch and dropped it into Dwalin’s hand. “It’s a rose seed. More specifically a red rose.”

Dwalin looked taken aback by the declaration. He looked down at the seed and then at Bilbo, his brow furrowed in confusion. He could have sworn Bilbo had held affections for―

“Bilbo, I don’t think you should be giving this to me,” he pointed out. Bilbo frowned.

“Why ever not?”

Dwalin wondered how the Hobbit couldn’t know. He was a creation of Yavanna after all, and he knew green things better than any of the Dwarves.

“Shouldn’t you be giving this to your One?”

Bilbo’s expression went from confused to bewildered to understanding, before he smiled and laughed.

“Dwalin, red roses don’t hold one single meaning. And besides, these are special red roses,” he managed to get out between his chuckling. “When this rose blooms, it will look like this.”

Bilbo walked over to his rose beds, and snipped a red rose that had a single blotch of white on it. He came back over and showed it to Dwalin, who had never seen a rose such as that before.

“It means respect,” he elaborated. Dwalin frowned, wondering what he’d done to receive such a flower from Bilbo.

“Respect?” he looked from the seed to the flower to Bilbo.

“In the beginning, you completely disregarded me. Anything I did, whatever I said, all my complaining,” Bilbo shook his head, and Dwalin coughed, feeling bad for remembering how he used to treat the Company’s prized Burglar.

“But little by little, you started seeing me as more than just a burden. When I foolishly stepped in front of Azog―” (“And saved Thorin’s behind,” Dwalin snorted) “―and when I managed to get you all out of the Mirkwood dungeons. You didn’t really _see_ me as just “the Hobbit” anymore.”

Bilbo smiled at the rose. “You started seeing Bilbo Baggins. I hold a lot of respect for you, Dwalin, for being able to see past my flaws, even if it took a while.”

Dwalin was touched to hear Bilbo say those words. To think, Bilbo respected _him_ for considering him a brother in arms when it was only right. If anything, Dwalin held much more respect for Bilbo, for dealing with him treating him as if he were a liability in the beginning of their quest. Dwalin stared at Bilbo, who looked back at him with a smile on his face. He shook his head.

“You’re wrong, you know,” he shook his head.

Bilbo frowned, and looked down. Dwalin closed his hand around the little seed, a big reminder of their friendship.

“I started thinking you had some worth back during the Trolls.”

Bilbo looked up sharply and his smile returned ten fold when he saw Dwalin’s own. He practically beamed when Dwalin coughed.

“How―How I go about planting this anyway?”

Bilbo was glad to tell him.

[][][][][]

In the chaos of getting thirteen rowdy Dwarves to settle for lunch, Bilbo slipped the red rose into the vase with the two others. It looked quite at home, as if it were meant to sit there always. Bilbo took one last glance at it before he headed towards the dining room.

_“Keep your hands to yourselves until the table is set!”_

**Author's Note:**

> I felt good writing this, which is awesome. I once saw a red rose with a white spot, and my Aunt told me that they were special. I didn't know how, I'll be honest, so I decided to make it mean Respect, since red roses can also mean respect and not just love. I have other plans for roses that mean love.
> 
> (Fun little fact; the flower Dwalin stepped over was an Achimenes, which means "Such Worth Is Rare")


End file.
